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Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country
| producer = | programmer = | artist = | writer = | composer = | series = Xeno (main) Xenoblade Chronicles (sub-series) | platforms = Nintendo Switch | released = September 14, 2018 | genre = Action role-playing | modes = Single-player }} Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country }} is an expansion pack released for the 2017 action role-playing video game ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2 released in September 2018 by Monolith Soft. Gameplay Torna – The Golden Country expands on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 by introducing a new combat system. The battle system and other gameplay systems were changed from the base game because Tetsuya Takahashi had a strong desire to make it easy for players to engage with the game. Since the game was designed as a separate DLC experience, the team incorporated as many new gameplay elements as possible to go along with its story and characters. In comparison to the base game, Torna – The Golden Country made improvements to the user interface and tutorials. One such example is the ability to switch characters and entire teams with a single button when out in the field. The collectible items in the field are now sorted into categories to make them easier to collect. Monolith Soft also added a "Tips" section to the game, allowing players to review previous tutorials. Regarding the battle system, there are three members in a team, and a maximum of three teams, making the total amount of playable characters at nine. When in battle, only one team can be in direct control while the other teams are controlled by the CPU. The battle composition for the active team includes the Vanguard and the Rear Guard. The character in the frontline and rear line is represented by the Vanguard and Rear Guard respectively. Unlike in the main game, the Rear Guard is an active participator in the battle. The way that Blade combos and chain attacks work have also been revamped. The team streamlined the sidequests, implementing a new "Community" system. "Community" is a more straightforward version of the "Affinity Chart" in Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Compared to the base game, there is more of an emphasis on how the sidequest characters relate to the main characters. Monolith Soft integrated a new system called "Camping", which is an amalgamation of the main game's crafting, Inn, and Heart-to-Hearts. Story Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country features a brand-new story and environments, taking place 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It explores the pasts of several main characters from the base game, such as Jin, Mythra, Malos, and Praetor Amalthus, and introduces characters such as Lora and Addam as playable party members. While Rex and Pyra were the main characters of the base game, this game follows another set of main characters, Lora and Jin. During the ending credits of the game, the fates of Jin, Azurda, Mythra, and Praetor Amalthus are shown. Mythra, devastated over the death of the Torna Titan that she caused fighting Malos, along with that of Milton, a young boy she befriended, transforms into Pyra, who Addam then seals away in the ship where Rex finds her in the main game. Jin takes Lora and the others to a militia camp to meet up with Torna survivors only to be attacked by Amalthus' forces after he succeeded in his coup to become Praetor, resulting in Lora's death and Haze falling into Amalthus' hands. Jin becomes a Flesh Eater and forms the Torna organization before returning to his old home to burn it down, along with all of his reminders of his past, save for his mask, which he puts on as he exchanges parting words with Azurda before departing, with the hint of them meeting again in the future as enemies. At the end of the credits, Rex is seen entering the room where Pyra was placed by Addam, leading into the events of the main game. Development In 2015, Torna – The Golden Country was one of the potential story candidates in the initial prototype for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. According to series creator Tetsuya Takahashi, Monolith Soft quickly decided against showing the prototype to Nintendo because they knew it would significantly inflate the budget and development time of the main game. As a result, they shelved the concept and stored it on Takahashi's computer hard drive. Later on, they went back and revived the scenario as a story expansion pass. Additionally, the story was originally planned to be in between chapters seven and eight of the base game's story, but they opted to keep them separate so that they could expand the scope of the story. The game boasts a new rendering engine which is slightly graphically enhanced compared to the base game. Takahashi specifically pointed out the difference between the fields of Gormott between both games. According to Takahashi, they received a ton of feedback from new players regarding the systems in general. He noted that a lot of new players found the base game's battle system to be a bit intimidating. As a result, Monolith Soft designed this entry to be easier to pick up for the first time. There are more tutorials in the early stages to explain some of the more complex aspects of battle and character development, and the map had been streamlined so they are easier to understand. For Takahashi, who is used to working on games lasting at 80 hours at minimum, he said that the biggest challenge the development team faced was balancing the actual game work and flow in a way that felt right into a 20 hour-long RPG. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country was released digitally as a part of the game's expansion pass on September 14, 2018, and physically at retail on September 21. Music Yasunori Mitsuda and the other music composers returned to write music, a total of eleven new tracks, for the DLC. According to Takahashi, the arrangers deliberately used acoustic instruments to match the more somber and mature tones of the story. Jen Bird also returned to perform the ending theme, titled "A Moment of Eternity". A digital soundtrack was released on December 14, 2018. Reception Upon its announcement, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country was positively received, with some critics expressing enthusiasm for the story expansion. Others cited endearing, relatable characters, interesting story, and an improved battle system. The game holds an 80/100 rating on Metacritic, a video game review aggregator, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The game was nominated for the G.A.N.G. / MAGFEST People's Choice Award at the 2019 G.A.N.G. Awards. Notes References External links * Category:2018 video games Category:Action role-playing video games Category:Monolith Soft games Category:Nintendo games Category:Nintendo Switch eShop games Category:Nintendo Switch games Category:Nintendo Switch-only games Category:Open world video games Category:Video games scored by Yasunori Mitsuda Category:Video game expansion packs 2 Category:Japanese role-playing video games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Single-player video games